Crazy Busy? 3 Steps to Take Back Control

Technological innovation has changed our world more profoundly than anything since Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press.  This change has brought both spectacular progress and devilishly complex problems.  New patterns of behavior are now epidemic a person checks their iPhone, email and texts at least once every 90 seconds. Then they wonder why people complain they can never get your full attention. As a result, we are:

• increasingly wrestling with the issue of what to do about what’s happening and
• how to cope in a distracted, disconnected world.

Is your life is feeling a little too hectic these days? Then it’s time to un-busy yourself. In Distraction S3 Mini 12, I share 3 easy ways to feel less busy and regain control of your day.

LISTEN NOW and learn how to combat the feeling of busyness and get in a state of flow.

If you need more tips on taking control of your time, try my CrazyBusy iPhone App for FREE. It will give you a high “worth-it” factor by providing you with possibly life-changing data that you have never looked at before.

Learn more tips in: CrazyBusy: overstretched, overbooked, and about to snap! : strategies for handling your fast-paced life.

The time is coming to give thanks.  Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays.  I’m a holiday-lover, so there’s a lot of competition, but Thanksgiving always ranks near the top for me.

Let me give you a bullet-point list what I’m thankful for.  In no way is this complete.  I’m offering simply to prompt you all to do the same.

• the freedom to change the station when the Kars for kids ad comes on
• the slick look of pavement when it rains
• Christmas season in New York City (I know this is a cliche, but I love it so)
• the sausage gravy my wife makes every Christmas morning
• my wife, Sue (ok, another cliche, but if you knew her and all the she puts up with…)
• of course, our 3 kids, now 29, 26, 23
• our new dog, Max, 3 months old, 80 pounds, a rescue mutt from Alabama; he is systematically destroying our house but we love him to pieces anyway
• Mozart’s Jupiter symphony
• Tom Friedman and David Brooks columns in the NY Times (ok, so I am a liberal, I hope that’s all right)
• That I am turning 69 and coming out with a new book with John Ratey in 2019
• hot dogs with lots of mustard
• and sauerkraut
• taramasalata (it’s a Greek spread…. to die for)
• the salt air when you cross over onto Cape Cod
• NAMI
• button-down collar shirts (I’m a preppy)
• lying in bed, watching TV with Sue late at night
• the fact that I can still play squash a little bit
• all of you who read this newsletter!

…. what are your favorite things?

Dr. Hallowell’s 2018 Distraction S3 Mini 11 Thanksgiving message. 

 

It was my pleasure to welcome Kristin Seymour back to Distraction to discuss ADHD and Productivity. Kristin knows firsthand how tough it is to have be productive when you have ADHD. Not only does she have ADHD, but Kristin is the mom of two ADHD teens, and she’s also an ADHD specialist. In S3 Ep 9, she shares more of her “life hacks” along with some special advice for parents of ADHD kids.

LISTEN NOW to Kristin’s sage advice on ADHD and productivity. You’ll learn how to achieve productivity in the midst of chaos.

ADHD and Time Management – What is in your time bank account?

We are all too familiar with this the term. If you are suffering with time management just recently or if it has been an issue for years, I am going to ask you to look at time through a new lens. We all have the same amount of time per day in our “time bank account. Twenty-four hours every day. Simple. What are some of the common “time overdraft” traits that are encountered? How does time management affect your ADHD and productivity? Click HERE to learn more. 

Are you a procrastinator?

If you’re a procrastinator, click here to learn if your procrastination style is working for you.

Reflecting on the recent news events in the United States, reminds me why connections are critical. Which is why I encourage you to make it a point to rediscover the goodness in people. It is time to get to know each other again, especially people who disagree with us.

Since connections are critical, I address the importance of connections in my Distraction Podcast, S3 Mini 8. So please take a few minutes and LISTEN HERE to  learn why connections are important.

Perhaps you’ll be inspired to reach out, start a dialogue, listen and try to understand another’s point of view. Remember understanding doesn’t mean you have to agree.

Let’s recognize that most people are good people, that most people will do you a favor, that most people want the same things in life for themselves and their families that you do, and that most people will make sacrifices for the common good.

“Connection is like the keys in the ignition. The keys are there, waiting to be taken. We only have to reach in.”

What to know more about harnessing the power of connections? Click HERE!

KUOW interviewed Dr. Hallowell and Lesley Todaro, Hallowell Todaro Center, about erasing the stigma around the word “crazy,” the relationship between ADHD and creativity, and talking to kids about ADHD.

“Most people who have exceptional talent have one or another of the conditions we diagnosis, whether it’s anxiety disorder, ADHD, dyslexia, major depression, substance abuse,” says Hallowell. “It’s rare to find someone who has major talent who doesn’t wrestle with one or another of those conditions.”

CLICK HERE to read more and listen to KUOW’s interview on “Why Ned Hallowell wants to celebrate craziness.”

If you miss ADDitude’s online webinar “From Shame and Stigma to Pride and Truth: It’s Time to Celebrate ADHD Differences,” with  ADHD experts Dr. Hallowell and Dr. Dodson, no worries. Thanks to ADDitude, you can LISTEN HERE and learn how to celebrate your ADHD.

Have you ever felt sad and not sure what to do? Dr. Hallowell shares his moment of entering sadness in this blog post.